Six candidates from German Right-wing party die suddenly before election
Six candidates from Germany’s popular Right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have died “suddenly and unexpectedly” as local elections draw near in North-Rhine Westphalia.
AfD has become one of the most popular parties in Germany primarily because of its stance against mass immigration, which has become the top issue for most German voters. It’s why the party has also won the support of Elon Musk, who recently tweeted: "Either Germany votes AfD, or it is the end of Germany.”
The Left-wing German government, controlled by the Social Democrats, has accused AfD of “racism” and “Islamophobia.” These accusations have been used to justify spying on the party’s candidates, denying them firearm permits, and arresting party members. AfD politicians have been beaten, nearly assassinated, and forced to go into hiding. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called to ban AfD from politics.
The sudden death of six AfD candidates just before the September 14th elections in North-Rhine Westphalia has therefore sparked speculation of foul play. After the party initially reported the death of four candidates this week, it emerged that two reserve candidates also died. On Sunday, AfD co-Chair Alice Weidel shared an X post from economist Stefan Homburg, who said that the deaths are "statistically almost impossible.”
Investigations are still ongoing, but police have denied any evidence of foul play.
“Ralph Lange and Wolfgang Klinger had serious pre-existing conditions, a spokesperson for the North Rhine-Westphalia AfD told Politico,” the European Conservative reported. “Wolfgang Seitz also had pre-existing conditions and suffered a heart attack. Stefan Berendes also died of natural causes. Of the reserve list candidates, René Herford had a pre-existing liver condition and died of kidney failure, while Patrick Tietze committed suicide.”
Protecting democracy by denying free speech to the Right
The AfD’s popularity scored the party more seats in last year’s European Parliamentary elections than the ruling Social Democrats. The government’s repeated targeting of AfD has drawn strong criticism from the Trump administration. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly admonished the German government for designating AfD as “extremist” and “anti-Muslim,” which provides legal justification to recruit informants and intercept the party’s communications.
“Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition,” Rubio wrote in an X post. “That’s not democracy – it’s tyranny in disguise. What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD – which took second in the recent election – but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes. Germany should reverse course.”
Rubio’s remarks came after Vice President JD Vance tacitly rebuked the German government for its persecution of AfD.
In response, German leaders insisted they are protecting democracy by denying free speech to the political Right.
“This is democracy,” the German Foreign Office responded to Rubio in a tweet. “This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”
In March, then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz made similar remarks to attendees at the World Economic Forum’s Davos summit.
"We have the freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany. Everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire,” Scholz said, referring to billionaire Elon Musk’s support for AfD. “And what we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme-Right positions.”
